ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · patient · wave · wind · bat · row · chip · clip

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wind — moving air
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. row — to paddle
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chip — for betting
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — to cut
  18. chip — to eat
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bat — the animal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com